Remarks as prepared for delivery by Andy Markus, Education Support Professional of the Year, to the 104th Representative Assembly

Good Afternoon, NEA!

Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you today. Being here with you—my union siblings—is a huge honor.

All of the delegates in this room, including my fellow education support professionals, are some of the most dedicated and resilient people I have ever met. No matter what curveballs people throw at us, we are still showing up every day to care for our students, colleagues, and communities. We are at school board meetings, state houses, RAs, rallies, and more, doing everything we can to advocate for better learning environments for our students and working environments for ourselves.

I started doing union work at the ripe age of three years old. Whenever I’d come back to school in the fall and teachers would ask me what I did over the summer break, I’d tell them that I spent my time campaigning for school board members and joining my parents at rallies and other events. I'd walk around neighborhoods with my dad, handing out campaign flyers and waving signs at intersections. And it wasn’t just the summers—I spent my whole childhood doing union work, and I loved every moment of it.

I’m proud to have been raised by union members who were also education support professionals. For 30-some-odd years, my dad was a lead carpenter, and my mom was a lunch manager in Jordan School District in Utah. This also happens to be where my amazing wife currently works as a lunch manager. My parents instilled in me strong union values that have helped me in my roles as a head custodian for Canyons School District, as a union leader, and as Education Support Professional of the Year.

While my parents encouraged me to work in public education, my students are the ones who have encouraged me to stay in public education. Just last year, I had an interaction with a student that I’m sure I‘ll remember forever. One day, a student confided in me and told me he is gay. He explained that he was more comfortable talking to me than his parents, and he wanted to practice with me before coming out to them. It was a powerful moment and reminder of how much students rely on the caring adults around them for support.

Moments like this are why I believe everything we do as educators matters—our students notice, and they care. I always say that my work as a custodian goes beyond maintaining a building, and this applies to all of us. Our work is more than the responsibilities outlined in our job descriptions—it’s about fostering a community that students and staff feel proud to be part of; a community where everyone feels safe, healthy, included, and supported. Because every student and every educator should be able to learn and work in a school environment where they can be themselves, free from violence and any kind of bigotry.

I tell people all the time that when we signed up to work in public schools, we signed up to be politically active and engaged. We have to be political, plain and simple. It's the only way we can make real changes. When I say political, I don’t mean red vs. blue, I’m saying you must advocate for you—for us, for students and working families.

I think we can all agree that ESPs, like other educators, deserve more funding, resources, and opportunities so that we can give our best to students and so that students can do their best in life. I’m glad to hear that more and more places across the country are realizing this. They are starting statewide campaigns, like the NEA ESP Bill of Rights. They are engaging educators, students, parents, community allies, and elected leaders to push for fair pay, good benefits, better working conditions, and respect for all ESPs. It's a powerful movement that everyone here can join right now. Pledge your support for the ESP Bill of Rights by going to the NEA website or stopping by our booth in the exhibit hall. (I hear you can grab some free swag, too!)

It’s a challenging time for public education, but challenging times give us an opportunity and a reason to grow as union members, as educators, as caregivers, as neighbors, and as leaders. In Utah, I have seen people throughout the community step up to defend unions and fight for our rights. It takes all of us—every member of our union—to make big changes. We can’t wait around and expect someone else to come and save us. We are the ones who must come together to save us.

Those who know me know that I’m a talker. While I’m more than happy to go on and on, I'll leave you with this quote from one of my all-time heroes, Mister Rogers:

“Often out of periods of losing, come the greatest strivings toward a new winning streak.”

When Utah passed a collective bargaining ban earlier this year, I’ll admit it felt like a big loss. But it only meant we had more work to do. So, we formed a coalition with other unions in the state, we organized, and we won more than enough signatures to get a referendum on the ballot. This means we now have a fighting chance to repeal this anti-union law and win back our collective bargaining rights.

Losses can be turned into small wins that become bigger when we keep trying. As a union, we have the power to win. And in some ways, we’re already winning. The fight is never over—we can and we must continue to protect our public schools. We won’t stop until all of us get the pay, benefits, working conditions, and respect that we rightfully deserve.

Because when we fight...we win!

Thank you, NEA!